Swimming and paddle strength

Sorry about you having to move inland, but life happens.

Lap swimming is good. Some open water swimming or paddling in lakes, if that's a possibility, would be good too. There has been a number of swim workout regimens suggested in this and other physical conditioning threads. Some include routines for increasing one's breath-holding capacity.

On non-surfing/non-running days, I used to swim laps during lunchtime at a nice Olympic size indoor pool. But it's been "awaiting parts" for a broken pipe since early spring. Really absurd how long it takes for pool repairs at the Navy base where I work. So instead I just go out for a paddle on an old, fat soft top board.

 

technically this correct.
many people will tell you that only surfing is good for surfing and imo they are correct.
however, any general aerobic conditioning routine can augment ones' ability.
this is optional but less so if you're old.

 

I found this weekend that my arms don't get tired when I'm paddling, just my cardio and breathing get messed up from duckdiving and extensive paddling.

Also, does anyone else kick when they paddle fast? Since I got on my new board, it is a 5'5'' and I can actually kick without hitting the tail of the board.

 

I live 2 1/2 hours away from surfing...

 

I'm the exact opposite. My breathing/cardio is fine, it's my shoulder that end up giving out. After about 2 hours or so as I rotate my arm for a paddle I hear a little pop, almost like when you squat down on mainland and your knees crack. I always attributed it to needing more strengthening in the shoulders. Or I need to take a break for once.

 

Maybe a bit of both. Rest for a bit, then try 5 lb weights and do arm raises, forward and side, and arm circles. Warm up first. I am working with shoulder issue.

Swimming is great for conditioning. It helps confidence in stormy conditions. It will help you paddle longer and stronger. Someone on this forum said paddling a surfboard is like swimming with your head out of the water (Tarzan style). It works a different set of muscles arching your back, instead of perfectly prone as you freestyle stroke. I like to warm up first - 500 m with fins, working on different aspects of form, going fairly slow. Form stuff like swimming downhill, full rotation, full lengthening of stroke. Then another 500m doing breast a nd backstroke to stretch out. Then I do 8 x 100 m intervals, trying to sprint out the last 25 m, with 15 -20 sec rest between. This is key to keeping your wind out in heavy lineups. Then I warm down by doing 100m breast & side stroke, 100 backstroke = 2000m and a great workout in aboot 45 min.

If you can find a lake not infested with snakes, paddle your board. When I was stuck in New Orleans years ago, I paddled my board across the lake at the apartment complex I lived a few times. I met lots of girls. Nothing can help you paddle better than paddling.

 

Im almost 2 years out of shoulder surgery ( two screws hold my shoulder socket together ) I have been doing light weight training a few times a week to help my shoulder stay in the best shape they can be. Just recently I found there was a public pool in Wildwood Crest so I plan on getting info for a membership. Another good thing for strength training is using them colored tension bands. They seem to help me a lot in keeping my shoulders moving freely and in good shape also

 

4000m was what we did during taper time back in my competitive days. A normal hard workout was around 6km for each session. Summertime we did double session workouts AM and PM

 

dooooooood - a double 6k workout is baaaaaad as sh!t!!

 

As a swim coach and former D1 swimmer I would strongly advise anyone against getting hand paddles unless you really know what you're doing. These things at least double your hand's surface area (depending on what size you get) and can put an enormous strain on your shoulders if you don't have really good technique. Heck, even people I trained with in college had to stop using them due to shoulder issues.

 

swimming will certainly keep you in surfing shape...not sure how you could even say this...? freestyle is the exact stroke you use for paddling...only difference is your on top of a vessel. I guess the actual surfing may be somewhat true and even there are tools out of the water that will help with that...carver for example.

If you don't have use of pool like me, go buy a used total gym...does the exact same thing...love using mine during flat spells...you can get them dirt cheap on craigslist for next to nothing...mimics the surfing stroke and I will paddle hard on that thing several minutes at a time...then rest then charge it again....I will do this for a half hour to sometimes an hour.

 

it's not like he's gonna be doin' 60g+/wk...

 

wow. thats good to know. never liked the things cause way back when things weren't built as well.....
well, sometimes we accidentally sliced our lane-mates throats. you see the red right away.

and, as surfer doods; i think we are well-served by keeping in touch w/our inner swimmer.

 

That doesn't matter. Would you advise someone to try a 300 lb squat who doesn't generally lift, even if it was just 1? It doesn't take much force to ruin a shoulder. Especially since I believe the original post concerning paddles was something like 'put these on and do sprints'.

Can paddles be a valuable training tool? Absolutely, I use them all the time. Can you easily use them incorrectly? Same answer. If your heart is set on using them, at least ask someone who knows what they are doing to watch you use them for a minute and give you some tips before you go nuts.

The #1 way to be better at swimming is to just swim. 99% of the world will get the just as much benefit from normal swimming as from isolating their arms & shoulders with hand paddles. There is a lot of good advice listed previously and I even saw some good starting points for workouts - I would recommend just starting there and growing into swimming with equipment.

 

I've swam laps for 25 years. I've always had very good swimming technique. What I've found is swimming becomes like walking as your technique improves. To the point where you really aren't getting much of a workout unless you go out of your way to push yourself and vary what you do. I can put my head down and swim back and forth for 45 minutes and really not get much of a workout out of it. Its a great way to clear my head but not much of a workout......more like going for a walk in the park.

 

Try tiring yourself out a bit first and THEN jump in the pool. I run 1st and when i'm nice and winded I jump in and swim laps changing technique frequently and not giving much time between "sets". I'm not going to win any swim meets but it seems to give me a work out. More-so than if I just swim without running.

 

i hear 'ya. i swim well and got better through the years; sometimes i have to remind myself to try harder
to actually acquire benefit from the exertion. but even if you just cruise the flip helps immensely. and it
does clear the head well, no?

 

Swimming is probably THE best thing you can do to train for surfing, without actually surfing. Most of the good points have already been mentioned. One of the best things for me has to do with the breathing. Try to breath every third stroke or fifth stroke so you alternate the side you breathe on (during freestyle). That's really helped me to feel much more comfort in bigger waves because I know I can hold my breath. It makes surfing much more enjoyable if you are worried about losing your breath.

Also very helpful for surfing - do freestyle, except lifting your head out of the water and looking forward. Much like how waterpolo players swim. This tends to mimic your head position when you paddle on a board. It also effectively creates more drag because your body position is more angled towards the bottom of the pool and your legs/feet drag at a lower water depth.

I keep my workouts to warmups and medium/high intensity swims. Short sprints - 25 or 50 yds as fast as you can - do like 10. And medium intensity 100yds - doing like 5-10. I don't find that super long swims are that beneficial - but I guess it depends on your intensity level.

All in all - I can get a great workout in as less at 30 min if you keep your intensity up.

Out of the water for strength, I'll do push ups, pull ups and do some work with kettle bells. I don't have a gym membership but if you have a pull-bar and like a 20-25lbs kettle bell, you are set.

Finally I throw in some long bike rides (7-10 miles at moderate to high intensity) and I like taking my longboard (skateboard) out for a few miles. The board I have is made for carving so i've found it actually helps with my surfing.

 

Any swimmers from Monmouth county? If so where? Thanks